


Out of Place

by IllogicalLogician



Category: Assassin's Creed, Thief (Video Games)
Genre: Gen, Modern AU, Thief-Assassin's Creed Crossover, grocery store au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-17
Updated: 2014-06-17
Packaged: 2018-02-05 00:36:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,917
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1799026
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IllogicalLogician/pseuds/IllogicalLogician
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A modern-day Garrett needs to find honest work, and ends up at the local grocery store. Dealing with large amounts of people and constant, rapid demands were never part of his skill set-- however the stress of the job is lightened a little when Garrett meets a new possible friend...</p>
            </blockquote>





	Out of Place

**Author's Note:**

> So this little ficlet-drabble-esque thing came from:
> 
> a) me working at a grocery store and it being more stressful than I had anticipated  
> b) it's very amusing to imagine my favorite fictional characters working where i do  
> c) i've been hooked on Thief lately and desperately wanted to add to the pool of thief fic available  
> d) i saw an amazing fanart on tumblr of Garrett and Connor Kenway working in a coffee shop together, and i thought it would be interesting to have them working at a grocery store together?
> 
> In the spirit of those things, have a fic in which Garrett and Connor Kenway work in a local grocery store, and Garrett's the new guy.
> 
> I hope you enjoy!

Garrett sighed. _12:00pm,_ if his watch was accurate—and it always was. The manager had said to come at 12:15, and it never hurt to be early. Still, the medium between being _too_ early or entirely late and _I don’t even want to be here_ had Garrett on edge.

The grocery store was familiar enough, a chain that had two other locations in the City. Even yet, Garrett got turned around twice even when he had _asked for directions at the service desk_ — Garrett felt like an invader in unknown territory as he passed through the break room on his way to the secretary’s office. _I'd better get this job._ Maybe then, he wouldn’t feel so dreadfully _out of place._

Garrett’s inner monologue was interrupted, someone popping their head out of a door down the hall and calling to him:

"Gary?" _Close enough?_

"Garrett."

Another voice called from the adjacent room:

"It starts with a G, you got that much." The secretary scoffed.

"Come on in to my office, Garrett. We’ll get you started." Garrett nodded, managing a smile. _People find it disconcerting when you don’t smile. The whole ‘stoic’ game doesn’t fly in the real world._ Erin’s words of encouragement played through his head.

The secretary talked— Basso, was his name— his tone was kind, yet the speed of his words had Garrett scrambling. He came to a question:

"Your application stated that you have had more than one misdemeanor charge?" Garrett froze, opting for the bluntest— and most truthful response.

"Petty theft."

"Burglary?"

"I pickpocketed a person for some change, I wanted someone’s necklace, so I took it. In the end, I got caught, and they got their stuff back. No harm done." The secretary regarded Garrett with a wary eye. _This is pointless. No one is going to hire a_ thief _for honest work._ "It won’t happen again." The thought had to help, right?

"You do realize that that will affect your standing as a candidate for the position you’re applying for?"

"I need a job."

"It says here that you attend a community college?" _I only told you any of this because the computer said it was a ‘required field’._

"Money’s short."

"Do you think that you can provide fast, timely, and friendly customer service, regardless of anyone who comes in here?" Garrett nodded, hoping to redeem himself with eagerness. Basso regarded the paperwork for a moment.

"Alright, then. Since you said that you’re only here to work for the Summer, and since we’re hiring a whole bunch of new people, you’ll make the cut. I’ll have you start on Wednesday at 10:30— will that work?" Garrett sat, shocked for a moment. He nodded again. "I’ll see you then."

Garrett picked up his bag he’d been carrying, and walked out of the room, a look of triumph and surprise still on his face.

***

Garrett had to hide his disgust at the uniform Basso handed to him. He hated orange. The neon traffic vest was near blinding. He missed wearing black and he hadn’t even _changed_ yet.

"I’ll let you change, and then meet me down at the bottom of the stairs." Basso turned as Garrett headed to the men’s room.

The job seemed simple enough— bag groceries, heavy things on the bottom, like items together, raw meat in separate bags. Garrett had the thought process down, it was the actual _doing everything_ and _why were they so busy_ that held him up.

Some people wanted specific things that others didn’t, and unhappy customers were the number one thing Garrett was afraid of. Confrontation meant conflict— the very last thing he wanted.

"Would you like your milk in a bag?" Garrett asked the customer at the register. The last customer had wanted ice and two water jugs that weighed nearly as much as he did and they had a _child_ in their cart and _still_ had groceries— Garrett was maneuverable, yet some things he could hardly manage.

"No." The curt response was cut short even further as the customer turned away.

"What about your orange juice? Or These other milk cartons, do you want them in bags?" The gaze Garrett received could have withered him had he not been working— it seemed customer service taught one civility _and_ resilience. If he was free from work, then he would have run away and brooded. However, such a face in retail would not do.

"I said, I _do not_ want the milk in a bag. The same for the orange juice.” Garrett did nothing but nod, biting his tongue. When he looked up, the cashier was already excusing his questions.

"He’s new— this is his first day, so he’ll have a lot of questions." Garrett focused on the things coming down the line, trying to keep a scowl off his face.

"Have a good da…." The customer walked away as soon their bags had been loaded into their cart. He cast a helpless glance to the cashier. They avoided the eye contact.

The next customer who came through wanted cigarettes—after five minutes of searching for the specific brand the customer had specified, they came up behind him as he crouched at the case, irritation coating their voice as they pointed to a box where one of his hands hovered. He brought the cigarettes back to the cashier with an apologetic look on his face.

He forgot a bag of groceries for one customer, then another, and then yet another— the cashier he bagged for looked at him skeptically.

"You….need to _pay more attention._ ” The way the command rolled off their tongue made him want to scream, or better yet, curl up under his bed with his cat and stay there for the rest of his life. He wanted to do well, he wanted to _know what he was doing_ and the fact that he didn’t left him floundering. _I’m_ _new,_ _not_ five— he wanted to retort, yet the bold statement wouldn’t leave his tongue.

It was a godsend when he was sent on his lunch break.

Garrett sat at on a chair in the break room in a huff, knees pulled to his chest as he begrudgingly chewed the sandwich he’d packed himself for lunch. He averted his eyes whenever anyone walked by. _Yeah, I’m the new guy, I have two different colored eyes, I’m utter shit at this, deal with it._

Garrett was so wrapped up in his own inner monologue that he hardly noticed as someone sat next to him.

"You are one of the new guys, right?" Garrett looked at the person beside him. If his voice wasn’t so kind, Garrett would have been intimidated by him— with broad shoulders and a very muscular build, he stood nearly a foot taller than Garrett.

"Yeah." Garrett responded.

"My name is Connor. Nice to meet you." Connor held out his hand. "Are you here for long?" Garrett shook his head.

"I needed a Summer job, and this one hired me." Connor nodded.

"How are you liking it so far?" _It’s far to busy for my liking and half the people I’ve seen look at me like I’m a_ child _and I can’t do anything._ Garrett shrugged his shoulders.

"I’m getting paid. What about you? How long have you been working here?"

"Just a few weeks. I am working over the Summer as well." Garrett said nothing. Connor looked at his watch. "Well, I will leave you to your lunch. Have a nice rest of your shift."

"Thanks, Connor." The boy was kind— something Garrett would remember, for later.

***

It was only day two of Garrett’s Summer employment, and he was already sick of it. He grit his teeth— if _one more_ person who wasn’t in high authority tried to tell him what to do, he’d explode. It would be messy.

Garrett turned as he felt a tap on his shoulder.

"You’ve got cart duty." His co-worker handed him a rope-and-hook-puller-thing and offered to take his spot. Basso had gone over the procedure with him— he’d gather the carts from the parking lot and keep them full in the loading bay at the front. Simple, right?

***

"Connor." One of the manager’s beckoned him. "Go help Garrett with carts. I think he’s hit someone’s car. Again." Connor nodded, grabbing a cart hook before heading out. Garrett was getting a very loud piece of a customer’s mind as he approached.

"I come here _one day_ every month. _One_ day, and that has to be the day when incapable employees are working, so they can _damage my car?!_ ”

"I’m sorry, ma’am. It was an accident. These carts are…." Garrett put his hands up, trying to console the woman in front of him.

"So now you’re blaming the carts? They are _inanimate objects_ , boy, learn to control them or find another job. Your manager will be hearing about this.” The woman slammed her car door behind her, the engine roaring to life in seconds. Before Garrett could think of a response, she had pulled out of the parking lot. Connor shrugged.

"The carts hit her car?" Garrett turned, shocked that Connor had heard the argument. Garrett nodded, guilt laden in his eyes.

"It happens. It is alright, let me help you."

"I don’t need help." Connor raised his eyebrows.

"Do you want to know the best way to clear the lot?"

"There’s a _method_ to this? I’ve been trying to figure it out for the past hour and they just keep _coming._ ”

"You could start with taking fewer carts."

"I can get…"

"You will tire yourself out faster if you take more than you can handle. I would start at the cart dock at the farthest to the left, and then move clockwise. The ones in the middle of the parking lot are always the most full. It would also help if you had one of these rope-hooks." Connor handed Garrett a rope with hooks at either end.

"Thank you, Connor." The expression of gratitude was quiet as Garrett looked at his feet.

"It is my pleasure. Follow me." Connor led Garrett to the nearest cart dock. He regarded it for a moment before turning back to Garrett. "The small ones are impossible to control." Garrett piped.

"As they are." Connor nodded. "That is why you have to rope them up as tight as you can, and not take more than six or seven at a time."

"Why are you helping me?"

"You needed assistance." Garrett sighed.

"Does this ever get better? Does it get easier?" Connor leaned against the edge of the dock.

"The learning curve is steep. You will learn quickly, though. Patience is the key."

"Well, that’s good, then. Patience is my middle name." _Most days, sometimes._ Connor’s encouraging expression made some of the desolation and stress that had been constricting him fade. Structured work had never been his thing.

"You’re very kind. Thank you." Garrett said.

"Stressful first few days?" Connor asked. Garrett nodded."It will get easier, I promise. And now you have a friend— it will be even better, now." Connor offered a smile. Garrett took a moment to work out a response.

"A friend." He smirked. "What brought you to talk to a small little punk like me?"

"I felt the same way on my first day."

"Oh, yeah?"

"Well, without the sunburn you are getting, but other than that, pretty much the same."

"Hey!" Connor laughed, the action pulling a chuckle out of Garrett as well. _Unbelievable._

**Author's Note:**

> And here we have my first fic contribution to the Thief fandom! I hope you enjoyed it!
> 
>  
> 
> p.s. (To those who have been reading "To Defy the Laws of Mortal Beings")-- I am still working on it, and hopefully will have an update within the next few days, if not, within the week. My laptop had an issue after sending it to the manufacturer for repair so we had to send it back again, and then i started working and got caught up in Thief, so needless to say, I've had a few distractions. Nonetheless, I will update soon!


End file.
